Stormy Legend
by Leafsky
Summary: SkyClan has completely changed since Firestar rebuilt it. Now, she-cats are only to nurse kits, and nothing else. But one she-cat, Stormkit, was born with a defect, and she needs to hide it if she's going to make the she-cats equal to the toms again...
1. Prologue

Lionstar narrowed his amber eyes against the brilliant starlight as he lay, settled on the top of the Skyrock, his thick golden fur gleaming. However, his eyes were clouded with thought and confusion as he stared up at the spirits of his warrior ancestors that shone above.

He didn't understand it.

By leaving the she-cats to nurse their kits, he was only continuing the traditions that had been in practice for generations, and all the former leaders he had ever heard of had done the same. So why did he feel so guilty, as if it was unfair? The she-cats, once or twice, had spoke out against former leaders, but most accepted this without question.

Why were she-cats weaker, anyway? Lionstar rolled his eyes as he recalled what one of the elders had told him when he was only an apprentice. Apparently, the first cat to ever die in battle was a she-cat named Silverpelt, the reason for the term for the starry night sky, which proved, according to many cats, that the she-cats were somehow weaker.

How did the elders know that, anyway. They weren't around at that time.

Lionstar sighed. If he was given a choice, he might have allowed the she-cats to hunt and fight as real warriors. But he would face so much rebellion if he did. And doing so would mean destroying generations of practiced traditions.

Sometimes, he sympathized with the she-cats. But not too many of them actually cared.

That was just the way it had always been.

SkyClan would never have a she-cat as a warrior, forget their deputy or leader. And the legend for why this was the case probably wasn't true, anyway.

Lionstar shook out his golden fur, then turned his head back to face the SkyClan camp. It was completely quiet, except for the whisper of the wind as it swirled around the camp. His deputy, Scorchclaw, padded out of the warriors' den to select a piece of prey for himself. Lionstar resisted the urge to flinch as he recalled the days when Scorchclaw had been his apprentice.

Because, she-cats could only train she-cats.

Not train, but teach them how to raise kits. How pathetic.

Lionstar sighed, the cold night breeze ruffling his fur. It just wasn't fair, and as a leader, he should have done something about it, long ago. But he didn't know if he should. Because that was the way it had always been.

Was it his imagination, or did the wind really whisper to him? It was a calm, soft whisper that spoke to him, and with a stab of pain and realization in his heart, he realized that the voice belonged to his dead mother, Honeytail.

"Lionstar..." Lionstar resisted the urge to yowl with emotion. "Do not worry, Lionstar... a cat is coming, closer than you think... and your problems will be solved, for once and for all."

Now, Lionstar could see the faintest outline of a light brown tabby she-cat standing beside him.

"But what am I supposed to do, Honeytail?" Lionstar murmured.

Honeytail stared at him, unblinking. "I told you... do not worry. Another cat will make your decision for you..." Lionstar narrowed his eyes to slits, thinking, until he abruptly realized that Honeytail was disappearing into the night air. He opened his jaws to call out to her, but shut them again, deciding that there was no use.

Lionstar let out a breath. _Do not worry._ His mother's words rang in his ears, and he forced a smile.

 _All right, Honeytail,_ he thought. _I won't._

But who was that cat? Was it a she-cat or a tom? Would a she-cat finally prove her strength? Or would a tom strike down any she-cat who tried?

And then, a screech ripped through the night air.

Then another.

Then another.

Lionstar would have recognized that yowl anywhere. Startled, he leaped down from the Skyrock, and bounded over to the nursery, his tail curled with worry as he slowed a little before he could pad inside. However, the medicine cat apprentice, Redcloud, blocked his path. "You can't go in."

Lionstar let out a growl. "Why not?"

"Nightbreeze is kitting," Redcloud growled, confirming Lionstar's suspicions about his black-furred mate. "And as your medicine cat-"

"Medicine cat _apprentice,"_ Lionstar muttered.

"-I'm telling you not to enter." Redcloud's voice softened, and he flicked his tail. "Don't worry. Nightbreeze will be fine. Pebblefoot's with her," he added, naming the speckled gray SkyClan medicine cat.

"Okay." Lionstar found it hard to stand still, as his mate was kitting. He flinched as he heard another scream. His tail waving in anxiety, the golden brown tom paced back and forth, unable to keep his worry inside him as he heard Pebblefoot murmuring to Nightbreeze, inside the nursery.

Oh, yes, and she-cats couldn't be medicine cats either. Lionstar didn't understand. That didn't involve using claws at all! Well, it did, but not really.

Pebblefoot poked his head out of the den. "Lionstar? You can come in, now."

Without waiting for further encouragement, Lionstar bounded into the den, purring excitedly as Nightbreeze lifted her dark head, looking at him through her exhausted, yet content, green eyes.

"Lionstar." Even her voice betrayed her exhaustion. "Come and meet your kits."

She flicked her tail toward four sleeping bundles, all pressed together like small bundles of fur. Lionstar's eyes darkened a little as he spotted the fourth kit, sleeping peacefully. But she was a she-cat, and Lionstar sighed inwardly. Poor kit.

"I want to call this one Stormkit," he announced, sweeping his tail over the small blue-gray she-cat.

Nightbreeze quickly glanced up at him, then down again. "The reddish tom is Cedarkit, and the black tom is Darkkit."

Lionstar rested his tail on the other kit, a gray tom, who was pressed against Stormkit. "This one is Smokekit."

Lionstar was staring at Stormkit again, the only she-cat in the litter of four. _Why were you a she-cat?_ he wailed inwardly. Life would be hard on her, and no doubt she would find it unfair. She was so young, so innocent... was it really fair to press the weight of a she-cat's life on a kit?


	2. Allegiances

**SKYCLAN ALLEGIANCES:**

Leader:

Lionstar - golden brown tom with amber eyes

Deputy:

Scorchclaw - dark gray tom with blue eyes, long front claws, and a lighter chest

Warriors:

Stonegaze - gray tom with a long tail and green eyes

Riverstorm - light silver tabby tom with amber eyes

\- Apprentice - Rockpaw

Hawkflight - dark brown tabby tom with green eyes and a lighter underbelly

Whitefoot - black tom with white forepaws and blue eyes

Dewflight - dark gray tom with green eyes

\- Apprentice - Sootpaw

Ravenheart - black tom with blue eyes

Shadeclaw - light gray tom with a black stripe down his back, black paws, black tail, and amber eyes

She-Cats:

Morninglight - silver-white she-cat with green eyes and white paws

Dawnstripe - dark red she-cat with green eyes

\- Apprentice - Rowanpaw

Blueshadow - dark gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Brightfall - tabby-and-white she-cat with darker paws and amber eyes

Apprentices:

Rockpaw - dark gray tom with amber eyes

Sootpaw - black tom with blue eyes

Rowanpaw - dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

Queens:

Nightbreeze - black she-cat with green eyes and a feathery tail, mate to Lionstar, mother to Stormkit, Smokekit, Cedarkit, and Darkkit

Kits:

Stormkit - blue-gray she-cat with a white underbelly, long tail, unusually sharp claws, and clear blue eyes

Smokekit - gray tabby tom with deep blue eyes

Cedarkit - light red tom with dark green eyes

Darkkit - pure black tom with a small, white tuft between his eyes

Elders:

Breezeflame - pale ginger she-cat with amber eyes

Grayfoot - gray tabby tom with green eyes


	3. Chapter 1

Stormkit squirmed as a weight flopped on top of her, and she let out a soft moan as the breath was driven from her. Heartbeats later, a soft tail swept whichever of her littermates off her, then whisked away. A paw poked Stormkit in the side, but she ignored it, shutting her eyes tightly.

"Why do we have to wait for Stormkit to go and explore the camp?" a tom's voice demanded.

 _Camp!_ Stormkit opened her eyes, expecting brilliant beams of sunlight to strike her eyes as she perceived the world for the first time, but instead, she saw nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was all black, as though she hadn't opened her eyes in the first place. But before she could speak, someone else cut in.

"Huh!" a rough tom's voice sounded from outside the nursery. "Lucky for you, Nightbreeze, all of your kits seem to be fine. Remember what the traveler said about that blind medicine cat who couldn't even defend himself? SkyClan will be humiliated if something was wrong with your kits."

Stormkit forced herself not to flinch. _There's something wrong with me,_ she realized. _I'm blind._

She let out a small whimper as the tom's words rung in her ears. _SkyClan would be humiliated if something was wrong with your kits._

Stormkit swallowed nervously. _That means,_ she realized, _I can't let anyone know about my blindness._ She winced. How in the name of StarClan was she to keep a secret that big? Though her kithood, she might learn to recognize everything by their scents and sounds, so she could pinpoint anything's location easily.

"One of your kits is a she-cat," the tom stated again. "That's a pity."

Stormkit unsheathed her small claws, turning her head in the direction of the strange tom's scent, as her mother replied to his jeering. "That's enough, Riverstorm. I know if my kits are she-cats or toms." The tom called Riverstorm snorted and padded away, his scent fading. Her mother's soft voice sounded in her ear. "Well done, Stormkit! You opened your eyes."

 _I know that. My awful blind eyes,_ Stormkit thought bitterly.

"Do you want to go and explore the camp with your brothers?" the she-cat asked, and Stormkit recalled that it was Nightbreeze. Stormkit, stumbling, jumped to her paws, a little awkwardly. She felt another cat nudge her gently.

"Hey, Stormkit! Come on!"

From the voice, she realized that this was her brother, Smokekit. And the kit mewing a few tail-lengths away was Darkkit. She purred excitedly, producing a soft, raspy sound from the depths of her throat, then followed Smokekit's scent, not too quickly.

Cedarkit, beside her, snorted. "The clan needs more toms," he growled decisively.

Stormkit immediately unsheathed her claws. "Who told you that?"

"I opened my eyes yesterday," Cedarkit sneered. "And Riverstorm told me." Stormkit let out a hiss, and her unsheathed claws raked across where she thought his shoulders would be, considering her own size. Stormkit felt his scent recede a little, then stop, as she let out a fearsome hiss.

"Don't believe it."

And she stalked after Smokekit, catching up to his pawsteps soon enough.

"Hey, Stormkit?"

"Yeah."

Smokekit rested his tail on Stormkit's back. "Was Cedarkit bothering you?" Stormkit turned her blind blue eyes onto her dark gray brother in surprise. _How did he know?_ Smokekit purred at her confused reaction. "He looked as though you had called him a squirrel-brain or something."

 _If only I had been there to see it._ "I clawed his shoulder," Stormkit muttered.

"You did?" Smokekit sounded surprised. "I thought she-cats weren't allowed to engage in that sort of claw use."

Stormkit hissed furiously. "And why not?"

Darkkit intervened, and Smokekit scented his paw reaching toward her, and jumped back, barely in time. The black tom let out a snarl. "Because the toms are stronger than the she-cats." Stormkit flattened her ears in disbelief. She couldn't believe she was hearing this.

Smokekit sighed, and Stormkit heard Darkkit's receding pawsteps. "Don't worry, Stormkit. There'll still be a place for you in the clan."

Stormkit turned on him, blind eyes blazing. "I don't want to be a nursing queen! I want to hunt and fight like a true warrior!"

Stormkit's nostrils quivered as a new cat, the scent strangely familiar, padded toward them. And it was a deep, rich voice. "I'm sorry that can never happen, Stormkit." _Of course._ The voice was her father's, who was also the SkyClan leader.

Stormkit let out a growl. "I can be a wonderful fighter!"

"But the she-cats are not as strong as the toms," Lionstar pointed out reasonably. "You'd be hurt."

"I don't think the warriors come back unscathed, either," Stormkit pointed out dryly, her blue-gray fur bristling. She made no attempt to flatten it as she heard Lionstar sigh and pad away, leaving her with Smokekit. "You understand me, don't you, Smokekit?" she asked, trying to keep the annoyance and desperation out of her voice.

Smokekit's tail reached her back. "Of course I do, Stormkit, but... I don't think it'll ever happen."

Stormkit's paws scuffled in the dirt. "It will. Wait and see. I am going to learn to hunt and fight, even if it means going against Lionstar's wishes." She paused, her voice taking on a happier note. "Come on, Darkkit and Cedarkit are already ahead of us. Let's go."

Stormkit realized that Smokekit had nodded, and fell in beside him as they padded after their littermates.

 _Hiding my blindness is easier than I thought,_ Stormkit realized, with an inward purr. _Now, no cat will ever no about it._ She padded after her littermates, her heart still burning from what she had realized, that she-cats were weaker than the toms.

And she vowed that she would change that.


End file.
